Why you should book a documentary session with your family. {Palm Beach Documentary Family Photographer}

I have been thinking a lot about the role of time in our lives, and how we never seem to have enough of it. It marches forward with a quickening pace, and we go along for the ride, looking back every once in awhile when something big happens, or something bad.

I sort of live this paradox where I work daily to be present and in the Now, but I make photographs for people, and myself, to return to a moment in the past.

I tell myself that it's ok because sometimes it is good to remind ourselves of the growth that we experience in our lives. We should cherish happy times and the people in our lives that we are grateful for.

That got me thinking about my photography and the role it plays in remembering. I started to think about my own memories, the people in my life and how I feel when I look at childhood photographs. I started to really listen to what people say when they see images of people they love from their past. And I began to realize that to make truly meaningful images, I need to break the mold of how we plan our sessions.

Because no one says that they fondly remember dressing in matching outfits and meeting on the beach to slam through a bunch of group poses in under an hour.

That is not to say that a posed and formal session is not important. It is, but it is not what I am after.

I want the little tiny moments that all add up and make your family what it is, which is perfect.

I want all the craziness and chaos, and the silent little glances and the real hugs, the tears, the fumbles, and grumbles, and the excitement that pours out like sunbeams.

I want the honest truth no matter how many dishes are in the sink, piles of laundry on the couch or toys on the floor.

I want to capture the love that can only exist in your family just as it is because some day you will miss the dishes and the toys that are strewn about. Some day you will yearn for the hum that fills your home with warmth. You will wish they were little enough to hold again.

I remember going to the portrait studio as a kid, and it was much like a trip to the dentist. It doesn't have to be that way.

It should be fun. It should be a chance to connect with your family and just be. It should fit into your life and your schedule, not the other way around.

I encourage you to think about the people in your life, and how you want to remember them, and how you think of them now. Think about your own childhood and not only who you remember, but how you remember them being. Think about how a photograph of everyone lined up in pretty clothes can only convey just so much, but a documentary session, well that is a day in your life.

And if you want to see what I mean, here is a beach session with a beautiful family as they love and explore together, just as they would normally. Only now, they have a way to look back.